Safety-stop.



No. 861,429. PATENTED JULY so, 1907. H. H. BROGKHUIS & A. BUETTNER.

SAFETY STOP.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 15. 1907.

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SAFETY-STOP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 30, 1907.

Application filed April 15, l90'7. Serial No. 368,336.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, HENRY H. BROCKHUIS and .ANDREW BUETTNER, citizens of the'United States, re-

siding at Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety-Stops; and we do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to safety stops for streetcars, and has for its object to provide a device of this kind which can be applied to street cars in such a manner that it is under the control of the motorman at all times, and can be quickly applied for the purposes of stopping a car if the ordinary brake mechanism should give way and the car get beyond control.

The device is simple and can be readily applied and is very eflicient in its operation. I

Referring to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the invention, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the front end of a car provided with one form of the invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of one of the shoes; Fig. 3 is a transverse, sectional view of a portion of a track with the shoe thereon; and Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one of the shoes.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1 and 2 indicate the shoes of our safety stop devices, and as they are exactly duplicates of each other, the description of one will be applicable to both.

The shoes are formed from any suitable material, preferably iron. Each shoe comprises a substantially fiat body having a flange, 3, on its bottom for engaging with the usual flange curve, 4, of the ordinary track rail, 5. The forward end of the shoe is provided with a shoulder or projection, 6, against which the car wheel, 7, is adapted to engage when the device is in use. The rear end of the shoe and also the rear wall of the shoulder are preferably provided with a groove, 8, for the reception of the flange of the car wheel. If desired, the rear end of the shoe may be extended upon the inside, as shown at 9, for engaging: with the inner side of the wheel and assisting in guiding the shoe on the track when being lowered for use.

' The shoes are spaced at the proper distance apart for engaging with the track rails by means of cross bars, 10. The shoes are suspended from the underside of the platform, 11, of the car by suitable hangers, 12, 13, two being shown for each shoe; each hanger is pivotally secured at its ends for permitting of the shoes being swung into and out of position, and the forward one preferably has its lower end formed into a bail, 14, for engaging with the shoulder, 6. The upper ends of the hangers are secured at such a point relatively to the car wheels that when the device is in its operative position, the hangers will stand substantially vertical, but as the device is'drawn forward, the shoes will be gradually moved forward in the arc of a circle, whereby when they are not in use, they will stand above the track and also in front of the car wheels.

A handle, 15, is connected at its rear. end with the device in any suitable manner, as by being secured to one of the cross bars, 10, and has its forward end projecting through the platform in position for being operated by the motorman, a shoulder; 16, being preferably provided for engaging with a suitable support, as the platform, for holding the device in its elevated position. Two springs, l7,are connected with the platform and the device, one to each shoe. The connec-. tion with the'forward ends of the shoes is'preferably made by means of bails, l8, and the connection between the springs and the platform is preferably made by rods, 19, which will permit of the springs and their connections folding or doubling up, if necessary, when the device is raised up into its operative position.

As above described, our device is adapted to be suspended beneath the platform of the ordinary street car in position for instant use, and when lowered upon the tracks, the rear end, which is preferably inclined, Will be caught between the front wheel of the car and the track, and thereby held stationary. As the car advances and causes the wheel to roll forward toward the shoulders on the shoes the springs from the forward end of the shoes to the platform, will be placed in increasing tension, which will have a tendency to overcome the friction of the shoe upon the track before the 'wheels reach the shoulders and slide the entire device forward a short distance, thereby preventing, or largely overcoming the shock or jar which would result from the wheels striking the shoulders and stopping the car too abruptly.

As soon as the necessity for the use of the device passes, the car is moved backward sufficiently to roll off the shoes, when the motorman can draw the entire device forward to be out of the way, by means of the handle which projects up through the platform.

As all street cars are not of the same construction or proportion, it is necessary that the different parts of our device be so adjustable relatively to each other and to the cars to which they are applied, that the shoes can be quickly and properly lowered into their desired position for stopping the car, and as quickly portion, and yielding means for holding said shoes forward.

placed between the car wheels and the track, means fo r suspending said shoes beneath the platform of a car, hails secured to the forward end of each shoe, a spring secured to said bail, a rod pivotally connected with said spring and the bottom of the car platform, and a handle for n o ing said shoes forward and from the track.

4. In a safety stop for street cars, two shoes adapted to' be placed between the car wheels and the track, cross pieces for spacing said shoes apart, hangers for pivotally supporting said shoes below the car platform, springs connected with the forward ends of the shoes and said platform, and a shouldered handle connected with the forward cross bar and adapted to be passed up through the car plat- I In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

- HENRY H. BROCKHUIS.

ANDREW BUETTNER.

Witnesses T. A. KEARNS, 1 JOHN C. HAMMER: 

